Dr. Craig Mello

Dr. Craig Mello is an Investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Blais University Chair in Molecular Medicine, and co-director of the RNA Therapeutics Institute at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. His lab uses the nematode C. elegans as a model system to study embryogenesis and gene silencing. His collaborative work with Dr. Andrew Fire led to the discovery of RNA interference (RNAi), for which they shared the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. RNAi allows researchers to suppress the expression of specific genes, which can help define the biological functions of those genes. RNAi also provides a therapeutic avenue to silence genes that contribute to disease. Craig received his Ph.D. in Biology from Harvard University and his B.S. in Biochemistry from Brown University.